Thanks for your comments, everyone! It's good to have our experiences validated, and to get some great new ideas/ thoughts.
Some additional information to what was posted originally: we had a lot of help from Deaconal Ministries Canada - their Helping without Hurting workshop is excellent and they have a lot of great online resources. We developed our own Guidelines for Benevolence document based on an older version of this document: http://3phzqy3f3ya0kq6h52bv8dj1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Guidelines-for-Benevolence-1-1.pdf . Developing the guidelines took a couple of years, but it was a very useful exercise as we determined what would work best for our community. As deacons, it also helps to keep us on the same page, and is very useful for new deacons.
Something that I haven't seen in the comments that I also found helpful: we are blessed to have members who are connected to our local police forces. They have a unique perspective on the community, and a better sense than the average person of what situations are safe or not. If you're able to include them in your benevolence discussions it's very helpful.
Posted in: How Does Your Church Handle Cold Calls?
Thanks for your comments, everyone! It's good to have our experiences validated, and to get some great new ideas/ thoughts.
Some additional information to what was posted originally: we had a lot of help from Deaconal Ministries Canada - their Helping without Hurting workshop is excellent and they have a lot of great online resources. We developed our own Guidelines for Benevolence document based on an older version of this document: http://3phzqy3f3ya0kq6h52bv8dj1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Guidelines-for-Benevolence-1-1.pdf . Developing the guidelines took a couple of years, but it was a very useful exercise as we determined what would work best for our community. As deacons, it also helps to keep us on the same page, and is very useful for new deacons.
Something that I haven't seen in the comments that I also found helpful: we are blessed to have members who are connected to our local police forces. They have a unique perspective on the community, and a better sense than the average person of what situations are safe or not. If you're able to include them in your benevolence discussions it's very helpful.
Thanks again, everyone!